It emerged yesterday that lawyers for Mr Trujillo had written to the internet encyclopedia in March, demanding the removal of defamatory material.

A copy of the letter, published on online legal issues website Chilling Effects, also demanded that the person who was repeatedly uploading the material be blocked from the site.

"If Wikipedia and Wikimedia do not remove the improper language by that time (7pm on March 7), and take the steps necessary to block its being reinserted, Mr (Trujillo) intends to commence litigation …,” the letter states.

The offensive material has since been removed and Mr Trujillo's Wikipedia entry now consists of a brief career history, photograph and web links.

A search through the history section of the entry reveals that two unflattering sections titled "CEO of Telstra" and "Controversies" have been removed.

Both sections contained negative statements about Mr Trujillo's stewardship of telco US West, his tenure at Telstra and standing in the business community.

Telstra spokesman Martin Barr said Telstra was not involved in editing the site and the information that Mr Trujillo's lawyers wanted removed had "nothing to do with business".

"Wikipedia has recognised the defamatory and inaccurate nature of information …”

Mr Barr could not confirm reports that the comments had been posted using a 3G mobile phone.

Mr Trujillo joins a growing Iist of high profile people, including former treasurer Peter Costello and Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty, who have had profiles on Wikipedia tampered with.

Mr Trujillo's Wikipedia entry has now been protected and can only be edited by registered users.